Centrifugal pump housing



Nov. 18, 1952 N. RANsoHOFF 2,618,223

CENTRIFUGAL PUMP HOUSING Filed OC'C. 2l, 1948 2 SHEETS--SHEET l NOV. 18,1952 N, RANSOHQFF 2,618,223

CENTRIFUGAL PUMP HOUSING Filed oct. 21, 1948 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 PatentedNov. 18, 1952 2,618,223 CENTRIFUGAL PUMP HOUSING Nathan Ransohoi,Cincinnati, Ohio, assigner to N. Ransohoi, Incorporated, Cincinnati,Ohio, a

corporation of Ohio Application October 21, 1948, Serial No. 55,655

Claims.

This invention relates to centrifugal pumps. It is directed particularlyto improvements` in the fabrication of centrifugal pump housings suchthat they may be produced at less expense than by the methods which arenow conventional.

Briefly, this invention is predicated upon the concept of fabricatingcentrifugal pump housings from sheet lmetal pieces joined togethery bywelding. More specically, a centrifugal pump housing is contemplated inwhich end plates 'of substantial duplicate configuration are employed inspaced relationship to one another, to delineate a cavity or recess forthe pump impeller. These end plates may be formed in a simple stamping,die, or torch cutting operation, one die or template serving to provideboth end plates since they 'are of similar configuration. The end platesin their spaced, parallel relationship to one another are joinedtogether by a peripheral band of metal to complete the impeller closure.An opening in one of the end plates constitutes an inlet orifice, whilethe other end plate has a suitable opening through which the pumpimpeller drive shaft may pass.

To provide a discharge outlet through which pumped uid may be deliveredfrom the housing, each of the end plates is provided with a tail piecewhich extends, in generally involute relationship, from the peripheriesof the end plates. These tail pieces thus dene two side walls of anoutlet or a discharge pipe and these side walls are interconnected withone another by Webs of sheet metal through seam Welds at the meetingedges to complete the discharge pipe configuration.

In the preferred construction, the invention contemplates housings forcentrifugal pumps which are adapted particularly for service in sumps,wells ortanks. that apparatus of this type be driven from a verticallydisposed drive shaft in order that inlet piping and the attendant headloss may be eliminated. The pump, when submerged, receives uid throughthe opening in one of the end plates, and piping connections to thedischarge are facilitated by directing the discharge vertically. vForthese reasons, the invention contemplates end plates in which thedischarge pipe tail portions are bent laterally to the plane ofconfiguration of the end plates. Now, by disposing the end plates inspaced parallel relationship and also offsetting them circumferentiallyin respect to one another, the desired spacing of the tail pieces ismaintained to provide two spacedside walls of a verticallyextending dis-It is usually desirable- (Cl. S-111) 2 charge nozzle which is integralwith the housing. In such construction, a peripheral band may beutilized to extend around the endl plates and the band may be bent, orshaped, to extend upwardly along the edges of the tail pieces at oneside thereof, while a web of sheet metal similarly may be welded alongthe edges of the tail pieces at the opposite side thereof to completethe pipe conguration.

A discharge pipe fabricated in` the manner just described will, ofcourse, be essentially oi rectangular or polygonal shape in crosssection.

However, the transition from this form to circular configuration, toadapt the discharge nozzle for connection to a round pipe, convenientlyis facilitated by welding a round nipple to the square nozzle, thelatter, if necessary, being swaged toward the round form to facilitateinterconnection between the two.

It is appreciated that the efficiency of many modern centrifugal pumpsis dependent upon relatively concise shaping of the impeller cavity asWell as the discharge passageway extending from it. However, for manypurposes, maximum efciency in pump operation is a less importantconsideration than the cost of fabrication of the housing'unit; and, infact in many instances, extreme eiciency does not warrant the extraexpense required in the fabrication to provide it. In compliance withthese considerations, the pumps of this vinvention are intended forgeneral service purposes where neither high deliv ery pressure normaximum output are of vital importance.. Typical instances in which suchpumps'are particularly well suited to use are thev handling ofsubstantially large volumes of chemical or detergent solutions, as inmodern metal cleaning equipment, in sumps or tanks containing solutionsfor electroplating, and the like. Also in this respect, the invention ispredicated upon the concept that metals and alloys which are resistantto corrosive attack by acids, alkalies, and chemicals frequently arevery expensive to use in the form of castings or forgings, but aregenerally available, at reasonable cost, in the form of sheets fromwhich the end plates andinterconnecting webs of the present housingreadily may be cut` or stamped. The housings, therefore, convenientlyare fabricated at low cost from .metal particularly suited to meet theservice conditions underV which the pumps are intended to operate.

A typical pump constructed in accordance with the present invention isdisclosedin the drawings .in'WhichL 2 Figure is a View looking up at thebottom of the housing.

Figure 6 is an exploded view illustrating in perspective the severalparts of the assembly.

Figure 7 is a top plan View of the assembled pump housing.

The pump illustrated in the drawings comprises top and bottom endplates, indicated generally at I and 2, and a discharge nozzle indicatedgenerally at 3. The uid is pumped by means of an impeller indicatedgenerally at 4', which is disposed within the housing, the impellerbeing rotated by means of a drive shaft 5 which is rotatably supportedin pillow blocks 6 6.

The end plates I and 2 of the housing are substantially flat sheet metalpieces, generally of involute configuration in the preferred form, andeach plate has a tail portion 8 extending Vas a continuation of theperiphery thereof; the tail portion is separable from the centralportion` of the plate along a slit or cut parting line 9. The tailportion 8 of each plate is bent to a position lateral, or at rightangles, to the plane of coniiguration of the plate, the bend preferablybeing generated upon a curvature of substantial radius.

The end plates I and 2 are spaced apart and from one another and theirplanes of configuration are parallel, the spacing corresponding to thewidth of the impeller 4 which is intended to g operate between theplates. However, it is also to be noted that the plates are oisetcircumferentially with respect to one another, such that the upper partsof the laterally vbent portions 8 of each plate are spaced apart fromone another. These tail pieces 8, as bent to this shape, constitute twoof the Walls forming the discharge pipe of the housing which isindicated generally at 3` in Figure 1. As illustrated, the tail Ypieces8 are formed integral with the involute plates I and 2 but it willl beapparent that these pieces may be formed as separate parts and joined tothe plates by welding.

To hold the plates 'in this spaced relationship to one yanother vand toclose the recess within which the impeller operates, a band of sheetmetal I0 is welded to the end plates along the edges thereof. This bandstarts approximately at the end oi the parting line 9 and continuesperipherally around the plates approximately vto the lpoint at whichvthe tail -portions diverge from the plane ofv configuration of .theplates. In'additi'on, webs of sheet vmetal are welded 'across the edgesof the bent-'up tail pieces to constitute theremaining walls ofthedischargenozzle. One of4 these webs, II, at the outside, extends.downwardly along edges .of the bent-up pieces and joins the peripheralband I0., while theother, I2, extends along the bent-up tail pieces .atthe opposite side thereof and joins the peripheral band.

I2 at a point spaced outwardly from the start of the parting line 9. Inthe alternative, Athe peripheral band I2 and the outlet pipe Aface -IImay be formed as a single stripk appropriatelyv cut and congurated toextend from the Vvstart 'of the parting line 9 all the way around theend plates and upwardly along the outer edges of the discharge pipe.

It will be noted that as the end plates are of duplicate coniguration,one of the tail pieces will extend upwardly above the other a distancecorresponding to the spacing of the end plates as indicated by thedot-dash line in Figure 2. However, in fabrication, this excess portionis trimmed away, or cut off with a torch, so that the discharge pipe issubstantially square at its end. All of the pieces may be joinedtogether readily by seam or fillet Welding in conventional weldingfabrication methods.

The upper end plate in the construction shown in the drawings isprovided with a shaft opening'r I Il. A larger opening, I5, is cut inthe bottom endy inlet opening may be located in the top endV plate ofthe housing, around the drive shaft, in which event the bottom endplatel of the housing may be devoid of openings.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A housing for a centrifugal pump comprising sheet metal end plates inspaced parallel re-V lationship to one another, said end plates being ofsimilar conguration, generally involute in outline, with each having atail portion extend` ing substantially involutely from a portion of theperiphery, the said tail portions being bent laterally from the plane ofconiiguration of the plates, and the said plates being oiisetcircumferentially in respect to one another, and means joining theedgewise portions of the said end plates and laterally bent portionswherebyl theassembled parts delineate a housing having an impellerrecess between the end plates and lateral discharge pipe extendingtherefrom, oney o'f the said end plates having an inlet opening and theother of said end plates having an opening for an impeller shaft.

2. A housing for a pump `comprising substantially flat sheet metal endplates having tail` pieces extending substantially involutely from theperiphery thereof, the said tail pieces being bent laterally from theplane of coniiguration of the end plates, the said end plates being ofsubstantially identical configuration and residing iny spaced parallelbut circum-ferentially oiset vrelationship to one another, the laterally'bent pertions defining two side walls of an outlet pipe,

and closure pieces welded vto the said side 4walls of the outlet, one ofsaid closure pieces extending peripherally around the said end platesr'to -complete the housing enclosure.

3. A centrifugal pump housing of weldedV sheetmetal constructioncomprising, a pair of end plates disposed in spaced parallelrelationshipto delineate a cavity for a pump impeller, -saidend platesbeing of substantially duplicate invol'ute conguration, an integral tailpiece extending generally involutely from the periphery of' each endplate and bent laterally from the planeof coniiguration of each endplate Aupon va curvature of substantial radius.' said end plates beingoffset circumferentially 'with 'respect to. one another such that theouter parts of the laterally bent tail pieces are spaced apart to definetwo opposite walls of a discharge pipe, a band of sheet metal welded tothe end plates along the respective edges thereof and enclosing thesides of the pump impeller cavity, and a pair of webs, one of which iswelded to the inner side edges of the respective tail pieces and to theband near the inner end thereof, the other of said Webs being welded tothe outer side edges of the respective tail pieces and to the band atthe outer end thereof.

4. A centrifugal pump housing of welded sheet metal constructioncomprising, a, substantially flat plate of involute conguration havingan integral tail piece diverging laterally from the plane ofconfiguration thereof, a second end plate of substantially identicalconfiguration and construction residing in spaced parallel butcircumferentially oifset relationship to the rst, whereby the outerparts of the laterally bent tail p-ieces of the respective end platesare spaced apart from one another to define two opposite walls of anoutlet pipe, sheet metal banding extending, in welded connection,peripherally around the sidewise edges of the end plates to enclose thespace between the end plates and continuing along the tWo outer edges ofthe respective tail pieces to provide a third Wall of the outlet pipe,and a web, constituting a fourth Wall of the outlet pipe, welded to theinner edges of the respective tail pieces to complete the enclosure ofthe pipe and housing.

5. A centrifugal pump housing of Welded sheet metal constructioncomprising, a pair of end plates disposed in spaced parallelrelationship to delineate a cavity for a pump impeller, said end platesbeing of substantially duplicate involute conguration and each having anintegral tail piece bent laterally from the plane of configuration ofthe plate, the tail pieces of the respective plates being positioned inoffset relation to one another such that the opposed faces thereof arespaced apart to dene two opposite walls of a rectangular discharge pipe,sheet metal banding welded to the end plates along the respective edgesthereof enclosing the sides of the pump impeller cavity, a web forming acontinuation of said banding welded to and extending from the outer` endof the banding in welded connection with the outer side edges of therespective tail pieces, and a second web welded to the inner side edgesof the respective tail pieces and to the banding near the inner endthereof.

NATHAN RANSOHOFF.

CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

